Snazzy Shenanigans of a Hufflepuff
by Huniikubo
Summary: Hufflepuffs just get no love. At all. No one knows how fun they can be or that they can be some of the smartest students if they just apply themselves or that they can be heros. They can be lazy, but Hufflepuffs are some of the best students there is! OC
1. Chapter One: Carter

_Girls who dream may look like honour students but they're just a bit above average_

_Girls who want to stand out want to become cuter_

_To burst out sparklingly_

_I can't stick to anything (I can't stick to anything)_

_I've got a big mouth (I've got a big mouth)_

_But I can't get myself in gear_

_Do your best, self!_

**- 'Pyoko Pyoko Ultra' by Morning Musume **

* * *

><p>"You better be packed and ready to leave tomorrow."<p>

Raina Rutledge brought her head up, looking to see where that voice came from. Suddenly, her door opened and her cousin Carter popped his head inside of her room. His face held nothing but impatience as he raised an eyebrow at the ten year old girl. "Did you hear me?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Huh? When did you get here, Carter?" The girl questioned. She really didn't catch what the boy said, since through that door, it all sounded like garbled jargon. And, she was wondering why her cousin came over without even telling her. Then again, she and Carter didn't talk much. Everything that was said, was usually said between their mothers.

She saw the look he gave her. No doubt her dear cousin though that she was idiot for not hearing him the first time, as he usually did when she didn't take notice of some of the things he said. Her thought was confirmed when she heard Carter sigh.

"Mum brought me, so we could all just head for the train station together tomorrow. But, I said make sure you're packed and ready to go for tomorrow. You do remember that we're leaving for Hogwarts, right?" He asked, opening her door all of the way.

Raina gave him a look of her own and pointed to her suitcases, which were beside her bed. "Of course I remember, Carter! It's only one of the most important days of my life, I can't forget it."

Carter eyed the gaudy pink suitcases that Raina was pointing to, wondering if his cousin would acquire better taste in things once she was older. Although, he couldn't say much, being only twelve himself and not so much into fashion. "Well," He started. "That's very good. But, I hope you know that you'll need to be on your best behavior there. And mind your manners, no matter what house you're put in. If you're lucky, maybe you'll get into Ravenclaw. Your only other option is Gryffindor. Although, I don't think mum and dad would like that very much." He directed that last part at the off chance of Raina becoming a Slytherin. He knew younger children could be highly influenced by their friends, and he knew she would probably make no good hearted friends in Slytherin. He felt like a traitor saying that though, because being housed in Slytherin ran in their family. Both of their fathers, who were brothers, were Slytherins and it was expected that Carter be a Slytherin also; but the boy was placed in Ravenclaw instead. Carter had guessed it was because of his brains, there wasn't really a sneaky or conniving bone in his body. He was truthful, didn't care enough about anything to be sneaky, and was rather blunt in both actions and words.

"What about Hufflepuff?" Raina asked.

Carter couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't think so."

Like Carter, Raina was definitely not going to follow the family tradition of getting into Slytherin. She might have the brains for Ravenclaw, if she brought her grades up. They started slipping after the girl's father passed when she was eight, and she stopped trying in school all together. Even now, when she wasn't grieving anymore, she couldn't of cared less about her schoolwork; preferring to procrastinate and hang out with her friends instead. Maybe she would be placed in Gryffindor, she seemed sort of courageous – and mouthy – enough, and he had seen a lot of other children like her in that house. She would probably get along with them fairly well.

He nodded internally at that realization. Yeah, she would probably be placed in Gryffindor. Poor thing. Hopefully, the family wouldn't completely disown her if that happened. She could blame it on her failing grades.

The family tradition was carried out by one member, however. Raina's older sister, Marina, was placed into Slytherin when she joined Hogwarts six years ago. Although, she had dropped out on her fourth year for reasons Carter would rather not waste thought on at the moment.

"When am I not on my best behavior?" Raina gave him an innocent look as she spoke. Carter couldn't tell if she was joking or serious.

"About 90% of the time." He crossed him arms, making her face fall.

"Ha..." She mumbled one of her unintelligible words, defeated, and looked down at her bed for a moment. "Well, I promise I'll be on my best behavior then. I'm really not that bad, am I?"

Carter shrugged, leaning on the wall. "You have your moments. I don't think you know how much you can talk someone's ear off or annoy them with your comments. Just be sure to watch that, okay? Especially when you're around a teacher."

Raina nodded, seemingly taking his words to heart this time as she quieted down. "Where's your mother, by the way? Did she drop you off here or...?"

"She's down in the kitchen, helping your mum cook dinner." Carter shook his head. "She's probably not doing much of anything though, since she can't really cook. So, she's probably talking Aunt Crystal's head off."

Raina scoffed. "At least mom's getting some conversation in. She's so hard to talk to, now that Marina had stopped trying a while ago. We're lucky Auntie Katherine can talk to anyone about _anything_."

"Mm." Was Carter's short response. He was never one for small talk and it was getting late, they needed to get to bed. "Well, it's about 10 o' clock, so it's time for bed."

Widening her eyes, Raina shot a glance at her cousin. "But, I usually don't go to bed until 10:30..." She whined, pouting.

"Don't give me that." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "We have to get up at 6am, I won't feel like dragging you out of bed in the morning and we all know your sister won't do it. So, you need to go to sleep now."

"Fine~" His cousin sighed and stomped up from her bed to the bathroom, going to change into her pajamas.

Letting a triumphant smiled slip onto his face, Carter left her to go to bed. "Goodnight?" He waited for an answer before he left.

Raina rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, mumbling. "Night, Carter."

* * *

><p><strong>LuvReinya: <strong>This is my first Harry Potter story, and I've only seen all of the movies, so forgive me if I make any errors about the story somewhere. I thought a few song lyrics hinting to what the chapter will hold was a nice touch, but let me know if it's just awkward instead.

Criticism on my OCs is allowed, but try not to be too harsh. I know everyone has a right to comment on this, but I do try hard to make the story enjoyable and the characters as original and likeable (or hated, for the evil characters) as possible. Updates will contain mostly short chapters, but some will be long (like the next chapter, for example). I find that it's easier to write a short chapter at a time. Thanks for reading! :)


	2. Chapter Two: Trainride

_I'll puff up my chest with pride and go_  
><em>It's fine if I'm selfish, right? Right?<em>  
><em>I only like the things I like<em>  
><em>Things are going great, so I'll start today enthusiastically too<em>  
><em>Laughing is better<em>  
><em>Otherwise, it's a waste<em>

**- 'Otherwise, it's a waste!' by Buono!**

* * *

><p>Raina eyed the train tracks impatiently as she waited for it to come with her cousin and his mother. No tearful goodbyes were said by them like the other families. It wasn't as if they didn't care for each other, they just weren't those type of people. Well, perhaps Raina would be if she weren't so excited. She was very saddened to leave her mother, who was a muggle, at home. Raina had dreamed of sharing this moment with her mother and father ever since she was a child, to be waved off to Hogwarts by them and make them proud. But that was life, she had always mused to herself.<p>

Her Aunt Katherine popped the gum in her mouth idly, adjusting her designer hat as she waited also. One would think that she'd be giving her son a tearful goodbye, but after two years of sending Carter off, she learned that he was just not one to appreciate that. She had tried to be sentimental with Marina, but that didn't work out well at all. The girl just stood there and wondered why her aunt of all people even cared. With Raina, well...the girl was just too excited to talk to. "When is it getting here? We've been standing here for an hour..." The thirty-four year old woman mumbled.

"Yeah!" Raina nodded her head furiously, placing her hands on her small hips. "It's taking forever." Her aunt patted her head with a smile, content that she agreed.

"We've been here for twenty minutes." Carter shook his head at the two.

Glancing at everyone else at the platform, Raina looked around for some of her potential classmates. Of course, there were numerous kids her age that were going to be first years. But, she also wondered which house she would be sorted into. Carter said she might be a Gryffindor, but she didn't want her family to look down on her. Maybe getting sorted into Slytherin would make her mother proud, since that was the house her father was placed in. Although, she likely wasn't going to be in it, for the mere fact that she was a half blood. She'd probably get beaten up nearly everyday.

Raina grimaced. The thought made her shudder.

Okay, maybe Gryffindor wouldn't be so bad. But, in the back of her mind, she really wanted to be sorted into Ravenclaw. When Carter was placed there, it seemed to please the family enough; because in their eyes, it was second best to Slytherin. Her aunt was the happiest, since Ravenclaw was her own house when she attended Hogwarts. Carter was surprised when his mother told him of that, since he had never pegged her to be – well – smart enough. But, who knew how the woman acted when she was his age. Maybe she was just like him and turned into the woman she was now. Although, Carter didn't even want to think of that.

Raina looked behind her to see that it was only her aunt standing behind her now. Carter had since gone to wait with his friends, some tall and lanky looking Ravenclaws. They looked weird and awkward in Raina's eyes, but that was probably due to puberty. They were 'Carter clones', Raina thought to herself and suppressed a giggle.

Speaking of clones, a group of redheads caught the little girl's attention this time, when she looked behind Carter and his friends to see a family of redheads sending their children off. What mainly grabbed her interest was a redheaded girl, seemingly her age, being hugged and kissed by an emotional woman Raina assumed to be the girl's mother. Maybe she was a first year too.

"That Weasley family is a big one..." Her aunt commented, following her gaze. The woman shrugged, it seemed that she didn't care for them too much. "I could never have that many children, Carter was enough for me. But they used to produce children like flies, those ones..."

Raina couldn't help but let out a light laugh at her aunt's snarky remark, but shut herself up when she found herself doing it. Like most of the people on her father's side, both married into and blood related, her aunt had a certain mindset where she thought she was better than some people. A mindset even Ravenclaws could have, it wasn't just reserved for Slytherins. Even though she would probably deny it up and down. The Weasleys were people a lot of purebloods of higher class looked down upon, for a reason Raina couldn't really understand. However, she didn't get that gene from her father's DNA, for whatever reason. Most likely because her mother was a muggle and it would be like looking down on her mother and herself, but Raina could never bring herself to talk down to someone.

"Look, the train's here." Her aunt continued, nodding towards the large train pulling up to the station.

"Really?" Gasping, Raina picked up her suitcase, but was held back by her aunt.

"Hold on." The woman said, taking her hand off of her niece's shoulder and crouched down to her level. "Now, you need to be on your best behavior. I know Carter has probably already told you that, but you need to do it. You and him are carrying on the family's name and have to carry it well."

Raina resisted the urge to frown. It wasn't as if anyone would recognize the name Rutledge anyway. Well, they probably would if anyone owned a _'Rutledge'_ brand broom or other magical accessories. Yeah, that's what her family got wealthy off of. Nobody in the family really likes to talk about that. Her family was wealthy, but they weren't legendary.

"And, don't worry about what house you're put in." Her aunt continued as she gave Raina a reassuring smile when the girl's face really did turn at the mention of houses. "I think as long as you don't end up in Gryffindor, you'll make your father and uncle proud."

...She _had_ to say Gryffindor, didn't she?

"What about Hufflepuff?" Raina squeaked.

Her aunt stared at her for a moment, then let out a loud laugh. "We'll see about that, dear~"

Deja vu, anyone?

"Um, okay!" Raina nodded vigorously nonetheless, returning her aunt's smile. "Don't worry, I'm probably a shoe in for Ravenclaw!" She put on a proud face, striking a childish pose which made her aunt laugh.

"Okay, dear girl..." Her aunt finally got the giggles out of herself, standing back up, then waved her off. "Don't forget to write us, alright? Your mother may not show it, but she does care about how you're doing. It'll drive her absolutely crazy if you don't."

Raina's eyes fell to the ground for a minute before she looked back up. "Right...I will, don't worry about that!" She began to walk backwards, waving goodbye to her aunt. "Bye, Auntie Katherine!"

Her aunt waved back and said her goodbyes before turning to Carter, who was already starting to board the train with his friends. "Goodbye, Carter sweetie!" She said, thoroughly embarrassing him as he turned red.

"Goodbye, mother..." He responded through clenched teeth, ignoring his friend's laughter.

"Be sure to watch your cousin!"

"Okay, mother!" Carter waved her off quickly before practically running onto the train, his friends right behind him with sneers still on their faces.

Raina laughed, seeing the whole thing – while still walking backwards – and started to turn back around to walk the right way. She could only make it halfway, however, before she bumped into someone and knocked down their suitcase and hers.

"Oh, sorry!" Raina was quick to apologize, realizing that it was her own unaware mind that caused them to collide. She looked in front of her to see another redheaded girl, like she had seen earlier, but this one looked different than the Weasley she saw. There was a more jovial and youthful air about her as she shook her head dismissively at Raina and spoke up for herself.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't watch where I was going either..." She said, then gathered her suitcase before helping Raina up.

Raina took the other girl's hand gladly before standing up and grabbing her own suitcase. "Let's agree to watch where we're going next time then?" She laughed, scratching her head sheepishly.

The other girl nodded and laughed at the joke. "Yep, you got it!"

And that was that, they both parted ways to hurry onto the train before it got crowded. As soon as she got on, Raina wondered if she should scan around for Carter, but shook that idea off. He probably wouldn't want his little cousin tagging around with him until he got to Hogwarts. It would probably be boring for her anyway. What did Carter and his friends talk about anyway? Homework? Chess? Other uninteresting things? She did, however, seen him sit down in a compartment that she was about to pass and heard him whisper to her not to stray too far from him. She nodded and decided to see if anyone was in the compartment next to his. Sliding open the door, she peeked her head into. She was honestly hoping for a compartment full of other first years like herself, older students were sort of intimidating to her. But, she had no such luck. "Hello..." She announced herself, glancing around.

Maybe sitting in this compartment was a bad idea.

There were three older looking kids sitting down in the compartment, two boys sitting together and a bushy haired girl sitting across from them. One of the boys had a sort of orangish red hair, most likely one of the Weasleys that she saw before she boarded, and the other had a strange-shaped scar on his forehead, like a lightening bolt. Which was just plain weird. The silence was awkward as the three just stared at her for a moment, Raina guessed that se had interrupted a conversation, before the bushy haired girl spoke up with a polite smile. "Hello," She said, moving over a little to make room for the younger girl. "Are you one of the first years?"

Raina sat down, feeling strangely timid under their stares. The girl seemed friendly enough, but she could tell that they probably would've preferred to sit by themselves. Nodding at the other girl's question, she started to speak again. "Mm-hm...I'm Raina–"

Her introduction was cut short by the door sliding open once again, but this time two tall redheaded boys cluttered in with huge grins on their faces. They were identical in looks and seemingly in personality also, Raina mused as she scanned them over warily. Basically, they looked like troublemakers.

"Oi, were looking for you guys." Twin Number One said, ignoring Raina as he and Twin Number Two sat down with the bushy haired girl in between them; nearly pushing the ten year old girl over in the process.

"We've got something good to tell you!" Twin Number Two continued, their grins still intact.

Maybe sitting in this compartment was a _very_ bad idea.

The bushy haired girl huffed, irritated with the two twins now. "Don't you see I was having a conversation with this..." The girl pointed over to the spot where Raina was sitting, but her eyes widened when she realized the girl was gone and the compartment door quickly slid close. "...girl...here. Where did she go?"

Deciding to sit in the next compartment, Raina opened it to find that it was currently empty; which was better than being full of older students.

She took the seat next to the window, setting down her suitcase and deciding to open the lunch that her older sister, Marina, packed for her. She discovered that her sister had made her a sandwich, which was a good sign since the only foods her sister could cook well were cold foods. Inspecting the sandwich further, she saw only cucumber and veggie cream cheese on it. Now, Raina could've brushed it off as her sister trying to be fancy or just picking a random sandwich to make, but she didn't. She and Marina had bad blood between them and argued about anything and everything, but one thing Marina knew was that Raina _did not_ eat anything that didn't have meat with it. Unless it was something that shouldn't have meat on it, mind you.

_She's probably indirectly telling me that I'm getting chubby. _Raina seethed in her mind, taking a bite out of the sandwich anyway. Oh well, beggars couldn't be choosers. And she was hungry.

"Hey, can I sit in here with you?"

Raina looked away from her sandwich to the voice that spoke, seeing that it was that same redheaded girl from the platform. The girl smiled at her.

"Hi again!" She spoke again, waving with her free hand.

Nodding, Raina motioned to the seat across from her and watched as the redhead sat down. "It's funny seeing you again." She laughed, setting her sandwich down to speak. "Maybe it's fate, we're destined to be train buddies!"

The other girl laughed, kicking her feet as she sat. "Probably~ We're meant to embark on this wonderful and exciting journey to school together. And, you don't mess with fate!"

Raina took that time to actually listen to the girl's accent, which she hadn't really noticed before. It was light and chipper, it also wasn't an English one. It sounded more Irish than anything else.

"What do you have there, if I may be asking?" The girl asked and motioned toward Raina's sandwich, her 'you' sounding like 'ya' and 'asking' like 'askin'.

"Oh, this?" Raina looked down to it, then back at her. "It's just a stupid cucumber sandwich that my sister packed for me." She sighed dramatically. "Even though I've never eaten a cucumber sandwich. Ever. Want some?"

The girl shook her head. "No, thanks. I was just asking, my ma packed me some lunch. Though, it's not any better than yours." She unpacked her own lunch for Raina to see, it was a packed lunch of roast beef, potatoes, and cooked carrots. Both of the girls made a face. "See?"

They laughed, starting to eat their lunch together.

"So, I never got your name." Raina brought up, looking out of the window as the train passed a lake.

"Oh, it's Daphne." The redhead told her, popping a small piece of potato in her mouth. "Daphne O'Shaunty be the name. Yours?"

Raina smiled. "Ah~ That's a cute name!" Her mind wandered for a bit, the streak of narcissism that she got from her father kicking in, as she couldn't help but compare her name to Daphne's. The other girl's name went together so well. _Daphne O'Shaunty. _Whereas Raina's first name was a rather difficult name to put with any surname. Raina didn't seem to go with much. Rutledge was alright, but it didn't do her first name the justice that Daphne's did for hers. It just rhymed...sort of. Realizing what she was doing, Raina suppressed the urge to shake her head. Look at her, musing over names. "My name is Raina Rutledge."

"Raina?" Daphne tilted her head. "That's a unusual name to be having. Not that it's not a nice name, if you know what I mean."

"Ah, yeah..." Raina understood what Daphne was talking. She had always received questioning looks for her name, since it wasn't very common. People always told her that it was a Japanese name, when in fact Raina – not Reina – was a French name. Although, Raina wasn't French either. Her mom didn't pronounce it the French way either. "My grandma had an obsession with water and anything to do with it, so she named my mom Crystal; Crystal meaning ice. I guess mom wanted to do the same, so she named my sister Marina and me Raina. Get it? Rain-Ah? Great name, right?" She laughed, making Daphne giggle.

"You must have quite the family." Her new friend mused.

Raina shrugged. "I guess so, but I never actually met my grandmother. She died once she found out my mom had married a wizard, had a heart attack." She idly picked a cucumber out of her sandwich and ate it, not really knowing how Daphne would respond to that. She hoped the Irish girl was openminded.

Daphne stopped eating and glanced up at her. "You're a half blood?" She watched Raina nod and kick her feet, possibly nervous. "I am too!"

Eyes widening, Raina set down her sandwich. "Really?"

The other girl laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, it was my ma who was the magical one though. She waited well until after I was born to let my dad know though. She told me that he fainted, haha."

The two shared a laughed and smiled at each other. Maybe it really was fate that they meet again so soon.

* * *

><p>"What house do you think you'll get into?" Raina asked Daphne, as they waited in line to be sorted.<p>

"Hm...I'd say Gryffindor, just because that was the house my ma was in." Daphne watched curiously as a boy was sorted into the Gryffindor house. "But, I'm fine with any, really. As long as it's not Slytherin." She whispered that last part.

Raina grinned. Suddenly, she wanted to be in Gryffindor. Well, if Daphne would be in that house. Maybe her mother wouldn't care, she was only a muggle, after all.

"_Raina Rutledge!"_ She turned when her name was called, feeling nervousness quickly creep up on her and leave that familiar cramping feeling in her stomach.

Despite that feeling, Raina held her head up as she walked to the Sorting Hat. She sat on the stool and let McGonagall place the hat on her, trying not to pay attention to the fact that everyone's eyes were on her. Which was kind of hard to do. As the Sorting Hat thought about what house she would be in, she looked down to see Daphne smiling at her, then make a funny face. Releasing a quiet giggle, Raina smiled back, but froze once she realized that she was still in everyone's view. Dying a little inside when she heard some snickers, mostly from the Slytherin table, she just flicked her hair hastily and decided to stay as still as possible.

….She could swear that she heard Daphne giggling at her about that.

"You have a lot of Slytherins in your family, don't you?" The hat looked down at her in a disapproving manner. Raina gulped.

"Yes...I do, sir." She answered quietly, crossing her legs subconsciously.

The hat suddenly smiled, or at least it felt like it was smiling. "Well, I won't be putting you in there. Will I? Ha!" It laughed, suddenly jovial with her. "Hufflepuff!"

If Raina could faint, she would've. What torture the hat put her through! And, just to say Hufflepuff...

She hopped off of the stool and walked over to the cheering Hufflepuff table, receiving multiple pats on the back and congratulations from. Accepting them with a smile, Raina thanked them, but couldn't help but feel sad. She made a friend rather quickly on her first day And a good one. She didn't want to lose Daphne.

Watching as Daphne sat down on the stool like she had, Raina listened intently to what the hat said.

The hat thought for a minute, trying to figure out the best house for Daphne. "Nothing much goes on in your head, does it?" It asked her, grinning.

Daphne laughed, not seeming to care if she was insulted – even if it was sarcastic or not – or that she was being watched. "Maybe I'm blocking my thoughts and you can't see all of the _deep _things I think."She told it, wiggling her feet playfully.

The Sorting Hat seemed to have his mind made up then. "Oh, I know just the place for you...Hufflepuff!"

Gasping, Raina jumped up to cheer with the other Hufflepuffs over Daphne. The redhead grinned and ran over to them, sitting next to her 'train buddy'.

"What luck we have, eh?" She grinned, making Raina giggle.

"Yeah, it's _fate_~" She emphasized the word and made a face. "I'm glad we're in the same house though!"

Daphne nodded and smiled devilishly. "Mm-hm, we can have some snazzy shenanigans together!"

Bursting out laughing, Raina looked over at her. "_Snazzy shenanigans_?"

"What? My dad says that's the new popular saying in the muggle world!"

Grinning at the other girl's words, Raina turned to look around the great hall. She spotted Carter at the Ravenclaw table in front of them. He was looking back at her with the most incredulous face, and then she remembered...

_Oh wait, I'm in Hufflepuff..._

* * *

><p><strong>LuvReinya:<strong> Please excuse any typos, I sometimes miss them even when I reread the chapter~ Plus, I'm really sleepy. I'm just excited to get this story out as fast as I can, maybe because I'm impatient XD Canon characters will be introduced soon, or at least will have longer parts in the story, since the golden trio has already made an appearance. I want to build up my OCs' characters first, that's why there's so much focus on them. One thing though, Raina and Daphne definitely aren't the female Fred and George, I'm not copying their characters at all. They won't be pranksters or anything like that, you'll see how they are with each other in later chapters. Anyway, I hoped you guys liked this chapter!_  
><em>


	3. Chapter Three: Cheering Charm

_It seems I'm doing what I want to do,_

_so even the times I made a mistake are somehow okay!_

_How about you honestly believe in yourself?_

_If you take one step forward, then it will work out somehow._

- **'Take it easy!' By Buono**

* * *

><p><em>Dear sister,<em>

_It's only been a week since you've been off to school, but I feel the need to remind you write home regularly. If you do not, mother will be terribly moody. Since I do not wish to deal with her if that happens, as I have my own problems to deal with, I strongly encourage you to remember to write home. I know how forgetful you can be._

_I've heard from Aunt Katherine that you've been put in the Hufflepuff house. I thought that was surely a joke at first, but then I realized how right you were for it. In fact, you fit their qualifications perfectly. Before, I had thought you would be put in Gryffindor, because I knew that you couldn't be put in Ravenclaw like myself. But, alas, I do hope you have fun during your time in Hogwarts. But, not too much._

_Your sister, Marina_

_P.S: Georgie says he misses you._

_Sister,_

_Next time, just let mom write. And, don't worry. Too much fun is how you dropped out, right?_

_Raina_

Scrunching her face, Reina put her short but 'sweet' letter in an envelope to send to her sister. She conveniently left out mentioning her nephew, Georgie, her sister's three month old son. That seemed cold, but Raina actually was a bit cold to the infant. She never cared for the boy's father, her sister's ex-boyfriend, and she didn't particularly care for her sister. Call her childish, but that in turn made her distant to Georgie. She and her sister had always had a sibling rivalry going on. Well, ever since Raina was actually old enough to comprehend what rivalry was. They compared themselves to each other, even with their six year age gap; Marina being sixteen years old and Raina being ten. Raina was the youngest, so in turn, she was the most doted after because of her young age. Marina was always jealous of her for that. That was, however, the only thing that got her a notch above Marina. Marina was older, so of course she was smarter and had the looks of the two. Standing next to Marina, Raina always felt inferior. It was until Marina had gotten pregnant in her fifth year at Hogwarts that Raina finally felt like she was better than Marina was. Her older sister had disappointed their mother beyond belief, and would've let down their deceased father as well. So, that instantly made Raina the golden child. And, made Marina even more bitter towards her. Raina didn't care about how her sister felt about her though, she was the favorite now. And that was all that mattered.

"Come on, Raina!" Daphne yelled from outside their room door. The Irish girl had since gotten dressed and went down early to attend to some things. "We're going to be late for class if you don't hurry!"

"Coming!" Raina called back, standing up and rushing out of the door after she sent the letter.

* * *

><p>Whoever assumes that all Hufflepuffs are hardworking are kidding themselves. Well, it's only half right. About half of the students were either dozing off or already asleep at their desks in Charms class, not hearing a word that Professor Flitwick said. He was a nice enough teacher and most of the class, if not all, liked him; but when a student doesn't want to pay attention, they won't.<p>

Drawing random doodles in her notebook, Raina lazily supported her head on her right elbow as she drew with the other hand. Her mind was still on Marina's letter, surprisingly enough, and how her sister seemed to mock her being in Hufflepuff. Was the house that badly thought of? No one she knew of in her family had ever been sorted into it, which really wasn't a good comparison since only her father's side of the family was magical. But still, the thought of her family's disapproval irked her. Even her aunt didn't think much of it. She had to wonder; what would her father think of it? Her father, Richard Rutledge, was an easygoing mad. Despite coming from a rather stuck-up family, he was modest and didn't think much of himself. Nor did he expect much of Raina or her sister. It was their mother who pushed them for good grades and a nice self-image, but not to the point of narcissism – even though Raina and Marina developed that trait anyway, mostly from competing with each other and boosting their own egos through that. While he was alive, he had never expressed a wanting for either of them to be in any house, but was happy to know that Marina was accepted into Ravenclaw.

_'That meant my daughter is smart'_, he had said that year. Raina could see him now, lounging back on his favorite armchair, a proud smile on his face as he read Marina's letter to them. The familiar memory made her brighten up a bit from her sleepy and bored daze. Did being accepted into Hufflepuff mean Raina was loyal then? Loyal to who though? Of course she was loyal to her own family. But, maybe that was enough. A smile tugged at her lips as the thought crossed Raina's mind. _'That meant my daughter is loyal'_, his deep and jovial voice echoed through her mind.

A light nudge work her mind up from it's daydream, and Raina looked to the left to see who nudged her. It couldn't be Daphne, who sitting at her right. She couldn't help but feel a little cranky. Who would disturb her memories of her father? Well, even though she was in class...

"Sorry...I just thought you might want to take down what Professor Flitwick just said, instead of drawing." The student who bothered her was a curly haired boy, with a little smile on his face that made him seem very upbeat and cheerful.

Raina pushed back the need to raise an eyebrow at him. Who was cheerful in class? But, she was grateful to him for letting her know what was going on. "Really? What did he say?" She lowered her voice, so Flitwick couldn't hear them.

The boy's brown eyes brightened a bit, seemingly happy that she didn't respond with irritation, and he spoke again. "He was telling us how to do the Cheering Spell. We're going to try it out in a few minutes." He moved to the side a bit, letting her look at his own notes. He had let her know just in time, as Flitwick had just demonstrated how to apply the spell by using another student who wasn't paying attention as an example. The random student looked up from their desk and bursted out into a fit of laughs, clutching their stomach; making the rest of the class laugh at the poor – or perhaps happy – student.

Flitwick turned to the class and cleared his throat, making Raina quickly cast her eyes away from the boy's notebook back to the professor. "I've seemed to overdo the spell, oh my..." He said, jokingly. "Now, students, I want you all to find a partner and perform the Cheering Spell. But, don't do it to the extent where your parter is in hysterics. Just make them laugh."

As the students paired up, the ones who weren't paying attention being quite lost, Raina paired with Daphne.

The redheaded girl stood up and looked at Raina in slight confusion. "Um...how did Flitwick do that spell again?" It seems that she wasn't paying too much attention either.

Raina found herself being more grateful to the boy now than she ever was. If he hadn't told her, the two of them would be stuck asking Flitwick to demonstrate it again – which was just embarrasing.

She smiled at her friend, holding up her wand. "Here, I'll show you..." She performed the spell on Daphne first, making the Irish girl give a light laugh.

"I see! I see!" The other girl grinned, recovering from the spell after a few moments. "I didn't know you were paying attention, I just saw you drawing tornados and things in your notebook when I glanced at you last."

"Well, I wasn't." Raina couldn't help but smirk, feeling like a rebel for being caught not paying attention. "But, that boy over there got my attention just in time to see Flitwick do the spell." She pointed over to the curly haired boy from earlier, who was paired with a blond haired girl.

Daphne's lips made an 'o' in realization. "Oh, I've seen him around before. During breakfast time. I believe his name's Justin Finch-Fletchley, or somethin' like that. I seen him around with Hannah Abbot and Ernie Macmillan."

Raina glanced back at the boy again, watching him laugh from the spell that who she presumed was Hannah Abbot put on him. She turned back to Daphne and smiled. "Well, whoever lets me copy their notes is on good terms with me."


End file.
